If you or someone you know has been charged with either a felony or misdemeanor, you need a proven criminal defense attorney to inform you of your rights and fight to protect them in court. Criminal charges should never be taken lightly. Even a minor offense can affect your employment or driving record, while a serious offense can introduce the possibility of prison time. Attorney Emile Martineau spent eight years in the Rhode Island State Attorney General’s office where he prosecuted hundreds of criminal cases. Mr. Martineau will use the expertise and knowledge he gained as a former state prosecutor to effectively defend you.
Whether juvenile or adult, we represent clients facing misdemeanor or felony charges, including:
Emile Martineau and Tom O’Brien: An attorney is most importantly needed to protect your rights and defend against the charges that are brought against you; also, to possibly see if there is merit to the charges and determine if they should be dismissed. We examine each and every element of the charges through discovery to determine whether or not there is sufficient evidence to support a charge at all. Simply put, we always look beneath the surface of what may appear on a police report or witness statement.
A person charged with a criminal offense is inherently facing an entirely stressful time. Criminal charges frequently have the potential of impacting every other facet of that person’s life such as employment, oftentimes licenses, citizenship, and things to that effect. Certainly the job is number one on most people’s minds in this situation. They need to be able to go to a proficient attorney whose knowledge and experience in this area of law will help them to understand the issues they face and what options they have.
Emile Martineau and Tom O’Brien: Our law firm has experience in both trying cases and resolving cases to the satisfaction of the parties involved. Our resources include three former prosecutors with close to thirty years of experience collectively as state prosecutors. Just about every type of crime that can be charged in the state of Rhode Island has been handled by one of the attorneys affiliated with our office. Our attorneys have the ability to know when a case is most appropriately resolved without a trial. We are very good at analyzing evidence, assessing witnesses’ credibility, and overall assessing the merits or lack of merits in any given case. The philosophy that we all have is we do not leave any stone unturned. When we are doing discovery we peel back every layer to see where there might be evidence that is exculpatory or favorable to our client. Additionally, well beyond experience, there is an application of a personal touch to the client in our approach towards case. We understand that this is a very difficult time in their lives.
Emile Martineau and Tom O’Brien: We start with the premise that everyone is presumed innocent. If the government is going to bring charges, they have the burden of proving each and every element of the charges beyond a reasonable doubt, and you have the right to hold them to that. There is nothing more serious that a person can be facing than the prospect of potential incarceration.
Emile Martineau and Tom O’Brien: The one thing that we advise clients is to not assume anything. People charged with criminal offenses frequently make assumptions, especially people who do not have a long criminal history. They are charged with something and have a tendency to assume the worst. Other times, unfortunately, they may assume the very least, which is also not good. It is a highly stressful time and people have a tendency to let their greatest fears take over. You really need to sit down with an experienced criminal defense attorney to sort out what charges you are facing, what evidence there is behind the charges or, importantly, what evidence there is not.
Emile Martineau and Tom O’Brien: The legal process varies a little by the type of crime. Generally, the person is arrested by the police, brought into court, and arraigned. If the charge is a misdemeanor, it typically stays in district court but can be moved to a superior court. If the charges are a felony, the police typically make an arrest. You are brought in and arraigned, and the attorney general’s office has up to six months to charge the case as a felony. That can happen with a screening or through a grand jury. Upon completion of that, the case is transferred to superior court where you will go through a discovery process, a pretrial process, and ultimately you are entitled to a trial. Then from there, an appeal may be possible. Along the way many things happen including motions to dismiss, motions to suppress evidence and to limit testimony. The more serious the charge, the more likely the client needs to understand that it is a long road. The wheels of justice grind slowly and it can take a while. The less serious cases are quicker. Oftentimes, felony cases are more involved and can take a considerable period of time to resolve themselves. This really requires an experienced defense attorney.